Publicação
Multi-criteria assessment to evaluate potential risk due to exposure to agrochemical products in natura 2000 sites of community importance in Italy
| Resumo: | Natura 2000 network is the largest interconnected area of protected sites in the world and covers almost 20% of European Union territory. It entails more than 25.000 sites all over the 27 Member States (Sundseth, 2008). However, many protected areas consist of private lands where agricultural activities have impacts on the conservation of biodiversity and habitats. The spread of large amounts of synthetic agrochemical products, and the consequent contamination of ecosystems, can reduce the biodiversity, triggering selection processes and creating resistant strains to those substances (ISPRA, 2015). The present work is based on an embraced methodology to evaluate the potential risk from the use of agrochemical products in Natura 2000 Sites of Community Importance (SCI) in Italy. The methodology is founded on a multi-criteria assessment of several variables, combined to generate a simulated risk index. The aim of the project is to develop a replicable geoprocessing workflow to generate the potential Risk Index for SCI in Italy. The use of GIS analysis is addressed to perform an integrated multi-criteria calculation of potential risk, based on the Preliminary Risk Assessment Model for the identification and assessment of problem areas for Soil contamination in Europe (PRA.MS methodology). The potential Risk Index is an instrument based on a qualitative methodology, constructed from the expert judgment on certain variables. Despite being a qualitative method, the potential Risk Index is an indicator pointing to sites that are potentially in greater danger due to exposure to agrochemicals. Even though there is no “ground-truth” to validate the results, they may serve as a suggestion for further quantitative studies to be carried out in the areas of greatest risk. |
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| Autores principais: | Mascarenhas, Caio Tentilhão |
| Assunto: | Natura 2000 Agrochemical Products Risk Index Sites of Community Importance Geoprocessing Workflow |
| Ano: | 2018 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade Nova de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório Institucional da UNL |
| Resumo: | Natura 2000 network is the largest interconnected area of protected sites in the world and covers almost 20% of European Union territory. It entails more than 25.000 sites all over the 27 Member States (Sundseth, 2008). However, many protected areas consist of private lands where agricultural activities have impacts on the conservation of biodiversity and habitats. The spread of large amounts of synthetic agrochemical products, and the consequent contamination of ecosystems, can reduce the biodiversity, triggering selection processes and creating resistant strains to those substances (ISPRA, 2015). The present work is based on an embraced methodology to evaluate the potential risk from the use of agrochemical products in Natura 2000 Sites of Community Importance (SCI) in Italy. The methodology is founded on a multi-criteria assessment of several variables, combined to generate a simulated risk index. The aim of the project is to develop a replicable geoprocessing workflow to generate the potential Risk Index for SCI in Italy. The use of GIS analysis is addressed to perform an integrated multi-criteria calculation of potential risk, based on the Preliminary Risk Assessment Model for the identification and assessment of problem areas for Soil contamination in Europe (PRA.MS methodology). The potential Risk Index is an instrument based on a qualitative methodology, constructed from the expert judgment on certain variables. Despite being a qualitative method, the potential Risk Index is an indicator pointing to sites that are potentially in greater danger due to exposure to agrochemicals. Even though there is no “ground-truth” to validate the results, they may serve as a suggestion for further quantitative studies to be carried out in the areas of greatest risk. |
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